WHITE ROCK - White Rock's Christine Girard made history at the 2012 London Olympic Games today by bringing home a bronze medal in the women's 63-kilogram division.

The win cemented Girard as the first Canadian woman to win a medal in weightlifting and the third Canadian overall to win a medal in the sport.

Originally from Quebec, Girard moved to White Rock three years ago and currently holds the Canadian records for her weight class as well as records for the Commonwealth and Pan American Games.

Girard also competed in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing but fell short of the podium by just three kilograms.

During her event early Tuesday, Girard cleanly lifted 103 kilograms in the snatch before failing twice in her attempts to lift 105 kilograms.

Going in to the clean and jerk portion of the competition in fourth place, Girard lifted 130 kilograms on her first try and 133 on her second. With a combined total of 236 kilograms, Girard managed to snatch the third spot, beating out Turkey's Sibel Simsek for a spot on the podium.

cpoon@thenownewspaper.com